Government Relations

The Education Alliance is the voice for Arkansas home schoolers at the State Capitol in Little Rock. Jerry Cox, our president, has over 17 years of lobbying experience. He is joined by Melissa Savary, The Education Alliance Director, and Karen Zimmerman, The Education Alliance Office Manager.

When the Arkansas Legislature is in session, we monitor every bill introduced to determine its impact on Arkansas home schoolers. When anti-home school legislation is introduced, we try to persuade lawmakers to avoid legislation that would place unnecessary regulations on home schools. In the event that we are unable to persuade lawmakers who wish to enact more regulations on home schools, we mobilize the Arkansas home school community to fight the legislation. This involves organizing expert testimony for legislative committees, encouraging home schoolers to contact their lawmakers, and assisting home schoolers who wish to come to the capitol to lobby.

In addition, we work with the Governor and his staff, the Arkansas Department of Education, and other state agencies to address home school issues, solve home school-related problems, and avoid more government regulation of home schools.

We work closely with the home school office in the Arkansas Department of Education.

We are the buffer between home schools and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, the School Board Association, the Arkansas Education Association, the Arkansas Activities Association, and others in the Education Community.